Not Just A Case of Nickels and Dimes
by Brian Martell
The year 2000 will mark the beginning of a
new era in Canadian coinage. In June the new plated steel coins for the
nickel, dime, quarter, and fifty-cent piece will be introduced. These new
coins are the latest initiative by the Royal Canadian Mint to reduce the cost
of producing currency.
While the savings will be welcome news
to the taxpayer (all changes since the Loony will result in savings of 784
million dollars over twenty years), they do present a problem to the vending
industry. All present coin mechs will have to be either replaced or modified.
The Mint first indicated that they were
going to a plated steel coin in 1995, but needed the time to perfect their
process and build their new facility. During this time, the Mint worked
closely with CAMA to address some of the problems that could arise with the
new currency. The two largest coin mech manufacturers, Coinco and Mars, were
able to get the actual production coins in April 1999, which enabled them to
prepare the hard and software modifications needed by the industry in
September 1999. With nary nine months to go before the introduction of the new
coins, the industry is faced with a whopping 89 million dollar upgrade cost,
(21.9 million dollars for the costs associated with the new plated coins
exclusively).
All vending operators, the vast majority of
which are small and medium sized companies, will be spending hard earned money
for no net gain. In many circumstances, this will represent the difference
between annual profit or loss and may have to be financed by further
extensions in credit lines.
CAMA has taken the position that while this
change is commendable inasmuch as it reduces government costs, compensation to
the vending industry is highly warranted, as it will be the only part of the
economy to pay for the new coinage changes. In a concerted effort to persuade
the government into a compensation programme, CAMA has mounted a multi faceted
campaign.
Mass notices to the vending industry have
been sent out encouraging operators to contact their Member of Parliament and
those sitting on the Finance Committee. Further, a pending letter writing
campaign to the Minister of Public Works will be mounted to seek just
compensation. Dan Stewart, the president of CAMA, noted that while much work
has been accomplished, there is still a long road ahead if the industry is to
see any of CAMA’s proposed compensation package.
On a special trip to Ottawa on December 1,
1999 Dan Stewart and Jean-François Marchand (les Distributrices Marchand,
Trois Rivières, Qc) had the opportunity to present before the Finance
Committee how the new coins would impact the vending industry. Further, they
conducted media interviews, met with various government departments and
Members of Parliament, as well as the Vice President of the Royal Canadian
Mint.
If the government agrees to the proposed
package, it will represent approximately $80.00 per vending machine. It is
interesting to note that the Canadian Government did, in 1968, compensate the
vending industry for changes to the ten-cent piece. At that time, the
government changed the metal composition in the dime from silver to a nickel
alloy, and compensated the industry for half the cost of a brand new coin
mech. That precedent helps bring the vending industry closer to compensation,
but it will take the participation of vending operators to motivate their
Parliamentary Members to consider this programme, based on fairness, equity
and a noble sense of justice.
© 1999 Brian Martell
